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Durok Fiefdoms
Brief Overview Founding date: 18,500 Kemdala (sometimes referred to as the City) and, by extension, the Durok Fiefdoms (referred to as the Slopes by those in the City), serve as the hub of Palidovas, with many cultures stemming from past exiles, expeditions, or refugees of the City and Slope. Kemdala prides itself in being a safe haven for knowledge, and a beacon of technological prowess for the rest of the world. Excursions regularly emanate from these lands, either to gain access to exotic resources, learn of the outlying cultures, and lands, or to dominate them. Manifest destiny and imperialism tends to tear through the countryside on suspiciously regular intervals, and many of the Fiefdoms have been “convinced” to join, man, and supply these expeditions time and time again, which has led to the creation of more than one outlying culture. Currently, the fever of exploration is once again upon the Slopes, but this time, whispers or armies and domination can also be heard from time to time. Particularly from the City’s many propaganda plants. Quotes “The Slopes aren’t so bad. If you need to get away from anything remotely interesting, and have a hefty supply of scent on hand at all times.” - Kemdalian noble “Take it from me, kids. Praise the City all you like, just make sure its eye don’t fall on ya. Nothing good ever comes of it.” - Maris, retired champion of Rainhuldt History Origin Thousands of years ago, many years after the dovasi broke surface, they stumbled among the ruins of a great Golden Age city. Being the pragmatic sort, they quickly set up shop and salvaged what they could, uncovering many rare and useful relics in the process. In the countless years that followed, many of these artifacts would be hidden away by a variety of nobles, kings, queens, elders, and the occasional peasant. After the establishing of a strong base of operations, many dovasi spread back down the slopes, founding their own rural kingdoms and regions along the way. The first few that grew up next to the next were directly under Kemdala's control, but the farther down they went, the weaker their grip was. So the nobles of the city consolidated, and quietly planned out their domination. Many years later, around a thousand years before the end of the Bronze Age, Kemdala saw its chance. Over the intervening years, the city had become a place that was vaunted for its magics and technology. It was a place of learning and comfort for those willing to put in the effort, and its achievements were many. But it was also a place of lies and deception. So during a particularly bad few years of infighting between the other kingdoms on the Slopes, the city used the chaos and confusion to seed them with Kemdalian spies and saboteurs. And after a bloody few decades that would later be known as "The Flowing Deception", every kingdom in the lands now known as Durok was dependent on the city for protection and technology. The country was forged. Foreign Relations The Whitrin Arkannon The Sand Dancers The Derillol Confederation Clothing Durok For most peasants, clothing is largely dependent on what furry creatures live close by. Merchants and royalty have a bit more choice, but their styles are largely utilitarian, with a few extravagant exceptions. A few regional styles exist by the northern waterways and southern forests, but the standard dress code is pants, a shirt, and some garment to go over that shirt. Kemdala The nobles employ a much more festive and fickle style, with bright dyes and precious materials across the board. Researchers within the Hall have the privilege to wear a grey, high-collared overcoat to illustrate their status. Science and Technology Durok Most Durokians are familiar with the basic tenets of mathematics, science, and magic, thanks to a ready supply of well-educated champions and elders. This, in combination with Kemdala’s most generous support, has led them to employ a combination of industrial and magical (mainly primal) methods for farming and materials production. Their weapons are well-crafted, and their healthcare, while a bit harsh in treatment, has had a relatively reliable track-record. Kemdala The Golden Age relics of the City have been studied relentlessly in the centuries that the dovasi have resided there. This has led to a scientific boom harshly contained within the City. Miracles and abominations both are regularly birthed within the buried laboratories of the Exalted Hall. In terms of luxury, infrastructure, weapons, medicine, and communication, Kemdala is said to be unmatched across the world. Religion For the people of Durok, religion consists of two layers. The various local deities and rituals that developed uniquely in each fiefdom, and Kemdala, The City Beneath the Moon. Because of its vast influence over the Slopes, from the technology, resources, and protection it provides, many from the fiefdoms hold both the city and its residents in high regards, bordering on worship. This gives the various teachings and propaganda from Kemdala a distinct weight to them. There are dangerously few on the Slopes that question what is told to them. Geography Durok lies on a massive hill that drops off at its top to reveal unscalable cliffs. At the top lies Kemdala, directly under the stagnant moon known as The Temple. The slope itself if home to some of the most fertile farmland in the world, and most of the rulers that sprung up there founded their dominions on this fact.